50,000 mangoes and counting

UNABLE to sell his mangoes to grocers because of black marks on their skin caused by recent rain, Brian Burton offered them to clubs and charities for free instead.

And it is a choice which has repaid in spades. His Anderleigh farm has been besieged since he made the pitch last Thursday, with more than 12,000 mangoes being taken by the public every day.

Mr Burton said major grocers considered the fruit B grade because Australian consumers expect their fruit to be perfect.

While he could have netted $15,000 by selling them privately as the flesh was still fine, he said his choice had given his Lake Barra Cottages property something the money could not buy.

"It's giving me a lot of advertisement for my cabins and my fishing, which I could never get," Mr Burton said.

"The money I could have made from my mangoes wouldn't have paid for my advertising."

Brian Burton's free giveaway of B Grade mangoes has turned into a bonanza for him.Scott Kovacevic

The offer was so popular that even interviewing Mr Burton was a challenge.

His phone was ringing every five minutes with inquiries, and guests were pulling up at his cabin to ask after the free mangoes.

The road was so busy that a haze of dust hung above the farm, and interest had come from everywhere.

"We've had some come that have special needs kids and they're trying to raise money to send them down to Adelaide, we've had a couple of dog shelters, and a lot of people collected for the elderly," he said.

"I've had phone calls from all over Australia."

Mr Burton believed about 90 per cent of the mangoes had ended up in the hands of charities.

Brian Burton's free giveaway of B Grade mangoes has turned into a bonanza for him.Scott Kovacevic

There are still another 30,000-40,000 to be grabbed, but he's not sure how long they will last.

"It's crazy. Saturday and Sunday we had people everywhere, picking them into the night," he said.

And his plan for next year if the crop is good?

"With the response I've had, and what it's actually done, I'm honestly really thinking I'll do the same," he said.